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Killer whale fought to hold SeaWorld trainer: witnesses

A killer whale that dragged a trainer to her death eluded SeaWorld workers who furiously unfurled nets while it swam pool-to-pool during the attack last week, according to witness statements released Monday.

Dawn Brancheau, seen here performing in 2005, was killed in an accident with a killer whale on Feb. 24, 2010. (Julie Fletcher / MCT FILE PHOTO)

SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, died Wednesday after killer whale Tilikum dragged her into the water. Tourists at an underwater viewing station saw a whale swim by with a person in its mouth. (JULIE FLETCHER / AP PHOTO)

By Matt SedenskyTravis Reed

Tues., March 2, 2010

MIAMI-A killer whale that dragged a trainer to her death eluded SeaWorld workers who furiously unfurled nets while it swam pool-to-pool during the attack last week, according to witness statements released Monday.

After minutes of frenzied work to save Dawn Brancheau, the whale was finally corralled but still refused to unclench its teeth and let go of her body, according to the investigative reports released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators have said before that Brancheau died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning.

“The whale would not let us have her,” another trainer, Jodie Ann Tintle, told investigators after the Wednesday attack.

In the investigative reports, Brancheau’s co-workers describe the swiftness of the attack and the furious response that came after alarms sounded around the pool. Employees who were at other pools, behind computers or emptying coolers of fish rushed to the scene.

The reports released Monday include the first extensive accounts from employees who witnessed the attacks at the park in Orlando.

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Jan Topoleski, whose job is to monitor trainers’ safety during shows, told investigators he saw Brancheau lying on the deck face-to-face with the 22-foot (6.7-meter)-long, 12,000-pound (5,440-kilogram) whale and communicating with him right before the attack. He said the whale, named Tilikum, bit Brancheau’s hair and pulled her into the pool in a span of about two seconds. He sounded an alarm and grabbed safety equipment.

Susanne De Wit, a 33-year-old tourist from the Netherlands, told investigators her group had just walked to a window for a photo when she saw the attack. The attack occurred in front of about 20 visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show.

“Suddenly I saw (the whale) grabbing the trainer ... and pulling her down in the water,” she said. “It was scary. He was very wild, with the trainer still in the whale’s mouth, the whale’s tail was very wild in the water.”

Tanner Grogan, who scrambled to help other employees unfurl nets to isolate Tilikum, said the whale at one point let go for several seconds, but snatched Brancheau again by the foot before anyone could react. The plastic, weighted nets — similar to temporary fencing used at construction sites — were unrolled and dropped in the water to help direct the whale to a pool with a hydraulic lift.

It’s not clear how long it took workers to finally trap the whale in a pool with the lift, which they used to remove him from the water. One witness said it seemed like 10 minutes. Another said it could have been as long as 30 minutes.

Even after the whale was lifted out of the water, Brancheau still could not be freed.

“Tilly was not giving up Dawn,” said Robin Ann Morland, another SeaWorld worker.

Numerous employees said the whale’s jaw had to be pried open to remove Brancheau, 40. But her hand remained in the clench of Tilikum and they had to pry his mouth open again.

When they finally got Brancheau free, her body was placed on the deck and her wetsuit cut off. Paramedics pronounced her dead, and her body was covered.

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